Trudging gingerly across the arid sands of the Gobi desert, Czech explorer Ivan Mackerle is careful not to put a foot wrong, for he knows it may be his last. He scours the land and shifting valleys for tell-tale signs of disturbance in the sands below, always ready for the unexpected lurch of an alien being said to kill in one strike with a sharp spout of acidic venom to the face. A creature so secretive that no photographic evidence yet exists, but the locals know it`s there, always waiting in silence for its prey, waiting to strike - the Mongolian Death Worm.
Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the intestines of a cow and sprays a yellow acidic saliva substance at its victims, who if they`re unlucky enough to be within touching distance also receive an electric shock powerful enough to kill a camel... or them.
Given the latin name Allghoi khorkhoi, the Mongolian Death Worm was first referred to by American paleontologist Professor Roy Chapman Andrews (apparently the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character) in his book On the Trail of Ancient Man, in 1926 but he didn`t appear to be entirely convinced about the whole idea. Even though locals were desperate to relay events of when the dreaded worm struck, Andrews writes: "None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely." But it wasn`t to stop other inquisitive adventurers taking up the investigative mantle when Andrews was no longer interested, or able to pursue the matter.
Only a few years ago, in 2005, a group of English scientists and cryptozoologists spent a month in the hostile Gobi desert searching for the fabled creature, and although they spoke to a number of Mongolians in the area, all of whom regaled wondrous stories of the worm, no one could verify they had seen the creature first-hand. Even still, after four weeks the team had gathered enough verbal evidence to be convinced that the worm really does exist. Lead researcher, Richard Freeman, said: "Every eyewitness account and story we have heard describes exactly the same thing: a red-brown worm-like snake, approximately two feet long and two inches thick with no discernable head or back (tail)."
Today, it is Ivan Mackerle, a self-made cryptozoologist who travels the world in search of scientific evidence that proves creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Mongolian Death Worm exist. As a boy he read the stories of the Russian paleontologist Yefremov, who wrote about a worm, which resembled a bloody intestine, that could grow to the length of a small man and mysteriously kill people at great distance, possibly with poison or electricity.
Mackerle says: "I thought it was only science fiction. But when I was in university, we had a Mongolian student in our class. I asked him, "Do you know what this is, the Allghoi khorkhoi?" I was waiting for him to start laughing, to say that`s nothing. But he leaned in, like he had a secret, and said, "I know it. It is a very strange creature."
So Does the Mongolian Death Worm really exist, and what if it does?
This insistence by locals that worm is a reality will continue to fuel inquisitive minds and as long as open-mindedness remains a fair virtue, we`re prepared to wait a little longer for empirical proof of its existence.
Just remember, if you do decide to go Death Worm hunting in the Gobi desert, don`t wear yellow, seemingly that`s the color that sends our wrinkly friend into one its trademark electrifying, spitting freak outs. Don`t say we didn`t warm you.
1. The woman who called 911 to ask a police officer on a date
A woman in Aloha, Oregon, called 911 because she thought a deputy who had just visited her house on a complaint was good-looking. After her neighbors reported a noise complaint, two sheriff's deputies knocked on Lorna Jeanne Dudash's door. One of them caught her eye. When they left, Dudash dialed 9-1-1 in a desperate attempt to get the deputy she described to dispatchers as "a cutie pie" to return.
She said that she didn't have an emergency; she just wanted the dispatcher to "throw the cute police back her way". The "cute" deputy returned, and, once he determined there was no legitimate emergency, he arrested Dudash for misusing 9-1-1. She now faces a fine of up to several thousand dollars and up to a year in jail.
2. The woman who called 911 after getting locked inside her own car
A Florida woman called 911 because she was locked inside her car. Turns out all she needed to do was manually pull up the lock on the door.
The unidentified woman was parked at a Walgreen's store in Kissimmee. "My car will not start. I'm locked inside my car," the unidentified woman said. "Nothing electrical works. And it's getting very hot in here, and I'm not feeling well." The dispatcher then suggested pulling up the lock. The woman tried it and was successfully able to open the door.
3.The lonely man who called 911 over 27,000 times
John Triplette, a 45-year-old unemployed man, was charged for abusing the 911 emergency line: he made over 27,000 calls to 911. Police says he was a lonely man who would call the dispatchers for company, sometimes hundreds of times a day. He would also make various noises, including grunts and other bodily noises, minimal conversation in a disguised voice, beeps from the touch pad, etc.
The prank 911 calls were made from a T-Mobile cell phone which leaded to his arrest after police tracked his cell signal. Police said he apologized for the calls. He said he made them "because they were free." He faces $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
4.The woman who called 911 because McDonald's didn't have McNuggets
Angered that her local McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets, a Florida woman called 911 three times to report the fast food "emergency." Latreasa Goodman, 27, called police to complain that a cashier would not give her a refund. When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." She was arrested and the Police pressed charges for misusing the 911 system.
5. The wife who called 911 to make her husband stop watching porn
A frustrated German housewife called police because her husband would not stop watching porn movies.
The 44-year-old woman, from Aachen, dialed the emergency police number and told the dispatcher in a weepy voice there was an emergency. But when officers arrived at the scene they found her pacing the apartment while her husband, 46, sat in front of the TV watching a blue movie. She was told however that there was nothing the police could do in such a case, but refer her to a counselor for help.
6. The 4-year-old boy who called 911 because he couldn't solve a math problem
A 4-year-old kid named Johnny decided to call 911 when he needed help with his math homework. Amazingly, the dispatcher actually helped him; the video is a must-see.
7. The woman who called 911 over lack of shrimp in fried rice
A woman called 911 to report she didn't get as much shrimp as she wanted in her fried rice at a Fort Worth-area restaurant.
The angry customer told the the dispatcher, "to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?" The customer also said: "He didn't even put extra shrimp in there."
The upset customer was gone when an officer arrived the next day. Restaurant workers said the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain. The cook said there was nothing wrong with the meal.
8. The couple who called the police to settle a cold feet row
A woman called the local 911 in China after her boyfriend refused to warm up her cold feet.
Police officer Xiao Deng, of Ningbo, received two consecutive calls, one from the woman complaining her boyfriend refused to warm her feet - the other from the man saying his girlfriend was too demanding. Deng went out to the rental apartment, close to Ningbo University, to try to resolve the issue but found the couple still rowing. He eventually persuaded the boyfriend that it was a man's job to warm his girlfriend's feet but told the woman not to leave her feet there for too long. The young couple put aside their differences and thanked him for coming out to solve their problem.
9. The man who called 911 because he was turned away at a nightclub
A man in Beaverton, Oregon called 911 when a nightclub refused to let him inside.
Employees at "The Caribe" nightclub in Beaverton said they didn't let Edgar Dieguez-Lopez inside because he was too intoxicated. Dieguez-Lopez then called 911 and complained to dispatchers that he was denied entry. Dispatchers explained through a translator that the club has a right to refuse service and asked him to wait outside for the police. Officers responded to the club and found cocaine inside one of Dieguez-Lopez's socks. He was arrested on drug charges.
10. The man who was been chased by cops and called 911 to try to fool them
A Sarasota man about to be pulled over by police tried to lure officers away by making a fake 911 call. Officers were following a 28-year-old man's car to make a traffic stop when they got a 911 call for an armed robbery happening several blocks away.
The man's plan seemed to work at first when the officers cut off their chase to answer the call. But then other officers in the area followed him into a parking lot and saw a gun in his car. Officer's determined that the man was a felon and not allowed to possess a firearm. After the man was arrested, officers said they discovered that the bogus 911 call came from his cell phone.
Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the intestines of a cow and sprays a yellow acidic saliva substance at its victims, who if they`re unlucky enough to be within touching distance also receive an electric shock powerful enough to kill a camel... or them.
Given the latin name Allghoi khorkhoi, the Mongolian Death Worm was first referred to by American paleontologist Professor Roy Chapman Andrews (apparently the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character) in his book On the Trail of Ancient Man, in 1926 but he didn`t appear to be entirely convinced about the whole idea. Even though locals were desperate to relay events of when the dreaded worm struck, Andrews writes: "None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely." But it wasn`t to stop other inquisitive adventurers taking up the investigative mantle when Andrews was no longer interested, or able to pursue the matter.
Only a few years ago, in 2005, a group of English scientists and cryptozoologists spent a month in the hostile Gobi desert searching for the fabled creature, and although they spoke to a number of Mongolians in the area, all of whom regaled wondrous stories of the worm, no one could verify they had seen the creature first-hand. Even still, after four weeks the team had gathered enough verbal evidence to be convinced that the worm really does exist. Lead researcher, Richard Freeman, said: "Every eyewitness account and story we have heard describes exactly the same thing: a red-brown worm-like snake, approximately two feet long and two inches thick with no discernable head or back (tail)."
Today, it is Ivan Mackerle, a self-made cryptozoologist who travels the world in search of scientific evidence that proves creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Mongolian Death Worm exist. As a boy he read the stories of the Russian paleontologist Yefremov, who wrote about a worm, which resembled a bloody intestine, that could grow to the length of a small man and mysteriously kill people at great distance, possibly with poison or electricity.
